Recent Posts

No, there are no typos in the headline. A new tax is sweeping the states, having already
passed in both Democratic (Washington) and Republican (Virginia)
controlled legislatures, and is on the fast track in states like
New Jersey (Democratic legislature, Republican governor) and
North Carolina (Republican legislature and governor).

I know, I know, Republicans are the party of "no new taxes" and
the Norquist pledge. So I've got to be pulling your
leg. But no: Washington and Virginia have both passed new fees on
electric and hybrid vehicles because they pay less in gasoline
taxes since they obviously use little or no gasoline. New Jersey
(see link above) is considering a tax on every mile an owner
drives (talk about government intrusion and paperwork!),
regardless of whether the car is gas or electric, to make sure
that electric car owners pay their fair share for road
upkeep. North Carolina plans a fee of $100/year on electric
vehicles and $50/year on hybrids.

If you have seen the story on North Carolina's "Moral Monday" protests, you know that the
Republican legislature is passing laws to restrict voting rights
and to cut [insert almost any program here, not to mention taxes]
as fast as is humanly possible So I have little doubt that North
Carolina will have this law approved by the end of the
legislative session.

I'm just not sure Republicans have thought through all the
implications of these taxes. Most significantly, they are
progressive in nature, as they would only be paid by people rich
enough to afford high-priced cars like the Tesla and the Chevy
Volt. And Republicans like their taxes as regressive as possible,
as state after state has reduced personal and
corporate income taxes while raising the sales tax